This disclosure relates generally to manufacture process, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a fin structure.
For manufacturing a fin structure, thin rolled sheets are usually used. Heat exchangers may utilize such structures and are key components in aircraft engine for managing temperatures of various fluids like lubrication oil, fuel, generator cooling fluid, air, and the like. Conventional heat exchangers are manufactured through a fabrication process where ultra-thin rolled sheets are used to make and stack the fin structures. Conventional manufacturing process by using rolled sheets allows 4-5 mils thick fins. These fin structures are then attached to the main heat exchanger fluid channels through brazing process.
Due to reliability issues with braze joints, manufacture of the traditional heat exchangers is transitioning to using additive manufacturing technology. Current additive manufacturing technologies have limitations on feature sizes that can be produced, for example, a limit on wall or fin structure size. This limit is a thickness of 15 mils. As fins contribute to major portion of heat exchanger weight, any increase or excessive fin thickness can severely impact the overall heat exchanger mass. Also, higher fin thickness results in higher pressure loss and reduced heat exchanger performance.